U.S. crude inventories declined for the first time in four weeks as demand for gasoline and other fuels derived from oil bounced back and imports and production slid lower.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday oil inventories for the week ended Oct. 15, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 400,000 bbl from the prior week. At 426.5 million bbl, stocks are 6% below the five-year average, EIA reported in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

The Oct. 15 period marked the end of a three-week trend during which inventories climbed nearly 13 million bbl. Stocks increased by 6.1 million bbl in the week ended Oct. 8, following a rally in crude prices that drove U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices above $80/bbl...